Director, Architecture Product Design (Bellevue)

About This Role

Director, Architecture Design (Architecture Design Leader) is responsible for elevating design excellence across the organization. This role ensures all architectural designs achieve high levels of aesthetic quality, technical feasibility, customer desirability, and business viability. The position leads the creation and stewardship of scalable design systems, including reusable modules, pattern libraries, guardrails, and standards that integrate buyer insights, field feedback, and market expectations. The Architecture Design Leader partners closely with the Architecture Product Operations Leader and with cross‑functional teams to lead the team to create beautiful, buildable, profitable homes aligned with company strategy.

Responsibilities

On a Given Day, Your Work Might Include

Design Vision & Quality Leadership

• Defines and communicates a compelling architectural design vision that elevates beauty, clarity, usability, and customer love ability.
• Ensures designs balance aesthetics, technical feasibility, and lifestyle relevance for luxury buyers.
• Protects design integrity throughout all project phases, from early concept to execution.
• Drives consistency, clarity, and innovation across all design outputs.

Design Systems & Efficiency

• Develops and maintains scalable design systems—including reusable modules, pattern libraries, and layout frameworks.
• Codifies principles, rules, and standards that reduce rework, accelerate throughput, and improve consistency.
• Ensures system assets translate cleanly into templates and documentation.
• Continuously improves efficiency through systemization while preserving design intent and quality.

Customer-Driven Design Integration

• Translates customer insights, homeowner feedback, and luxury‑buyer lifestyle patterns into design direction.
• Collaborates with Sales, CX, and Home Experience teams to identify design opportunities and resolve friction points.
• Ensures designs resonate across multiple luxury buyer types while adapting appropriately to different neighborhood contexts.
• Applies market and real estate trends to shape long‑term design evolution.

Technical & Feasibility Alignment

• Ensures conceptual designs are technically feasible, buildable, and aligned with structural, code, and site‑fit constraints.
• Works closely with engineering, drafting, and construction partners to resolve issues before handoff.
• Identifies opportunities for simplification and cost‑effective design decisions that do not compromise experience quality.
• Integrates feasibility, desirability, and viability into early‑stage decision‑making.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partners with Architecture Operations, Construction, Interior Design, Land, Sales, and CX teams to align design goals.
• Represents design intent in design reviews, cross‑functional decisions, and executive discussions.
• Ensures alignment between design systems, operational constraints, and customer expectations.
• Resolves design conflicts and provides clear rationale for key design choices.

Leadership & Team Development

• Leads a team of architects (approximately 6‑9) and coaches them to develop both creative and technical mastery.
• Leads structured critiques that elevate clarity, craft, and systems thinking.
• Establishes clear expectations, accountability structures, workflows, and development pathways.
• Cultivates a culture of humility, collaboration, accuracy, systems thinking, and continuous improvement.
• Owns the full employee lifecycle for their team, from hiring through onboarding, development, performance management, and offboarding.
• Identifies and helps recruit strong design talent aligned with organizational needs.
• Performs other related duties as necessary or assigned.

Preferred Qualifications

• Possesses a strong architectural design portfolio demonstrating aesthetic judgement, technical capabilities, and system thinking.
• Ability to balance feasibility, desirability, and viability in all design decisions.
• Experience developing reusable design assets, standards, or scalable pattern libraries.
• Excellent communication and storytelling skills; able to articulate design intent clearly and persuasively.
• Proficiency with drafting/BIM, workflows and how design systems translate into technical documentation.
• Proficiency with MS suite of products to include Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Co‑Pilot (and/or other AI tools), etc.
• Ability to clearly communicate technical and non‑technical information and/or data to/with technical and non‑technical partners (Growth Mindset).
• Demonstrates curiosity, continuous learning, agility, adaptability, and an emphasis on developing team capabilities (Growth Mindset).
• Actively engages in coaching others, active listening, motivating and empowering others, and effective delegation (Servant Leadership).
• Consistently demonstrates empathy, genuine care for employees, seeks and provides feedback & clarity, is self‑aware, and is considered a trust‑builder (Emotional Intelligence).
• Consistently demonstrates vision, change management principles, strategic alignment, strives for innovation, sees the big picture, and embraces cutting‑edge technology (Future‑Focused Thinking).
• Welcomes diverse viewpoints, demonstrates market awareness, systems thinking, challenging the status quo, and is consistently collaborative and seeking win‑win solutions (Global Perspectives).
• Consistently takes initiative, aligning personal and company goals, follows‑through, and demonstrates integrity (Ownership).
• Demonstrates leadership grounded in clarity, accountability, humility and collaboration.
• Strong understanding of architectural process, structural logic, building codes, and construction feasibility.

What You Bring to MN Custom Homes

• Bachelor’s degree in architecture required. Master’s degree preferred.
• Must possess licensure for WA and preferably AZ, too.
• 12+ years of architectural experience in residential construction or homebuilding.
• 7+ years leading architecture, design, product development, and/or engineering/drafting teams.
• Ability to strongly demonstrate the following:
• Architectural design principles
• Structural systems
• Housing code compliance (local & national)
• Construction documentation and detailing
• Land planning fundamentals
• Demonstrated proficiency in architectural software (AutoCAD, Revit, BIM tools).
• Proven experience influencing executives and leading cross‑functional initiatives.
• Strong understanding of cost drivers and value‑engineering techniques.

Working Environment & Physical Requirements

• Ability to occasionally walk lots as part of the feasibility process, and/or job sites as needed.
• This position requires frequent use of a computer, including keyboard functions and visual acuity of 20 inches or fewer on a daily basis.
• Must be able to lift up to 10 lbs occasionally with or without accommodation.
• Majority of work is within a standard open concept office environment.
• Must be able to work in office Monday – Friday, within core business hours of 8AM‑5PM.

Travel & Vehicle Requirements

• May be required to occasionally travel to feasibility lots, job sites, municipalities and/or other markets. Local travel will require use of personal vehicle.
• Must possess a valid WA State driver’s license and vehicle insurance. If approved for a vehicle stipend (versus mileage reimbursement), must pass a motor vehicle background check per the Company’s standards, and provide and keep maintained, with the Company, proof of valid WA State driver’s license and vehicle insurance. MN should be listed as an additional insured party on the vehicle insurance.

Employee Benefits

• 100% covered employee premiums for medical and dental self‑coverage.
• 100% employer‑paid life insurance.
• 100% employer‑paid long term disability insurance.
• Paid medical and family leave.
• Critical illness insurance.